Syria says soldier killed, three wounded in Israeli strikes

One Syrian soldier was killed and three others were injured in Israeli air strikes against military sites and a residential building in Damascus early on Sunday, the Syrian army said.

The army said in a statement that the attacks were launched from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

For years Israel has been carrying out attacks against what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran's influence has grown since it began supporting President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war that started in 2011.

Reported Israeli strikes on Syria have intensified sharply since the start of the war in Gaza last October.

Sunday's strikes targeted "a number of our military sites in the southern region and one of the residential buildings in the Kafar Souseh area in the city of Damascus," the Syrian army said in a statement.

"Our air defence systems confronted the enemy's missiles despite their density and shot down a considerable number of them."

Israel's army said its strikes were in response to the launch of two drones from Syria towards the north of Eilat on Saturday, which it said were intercepted.

"Overnight, the IDF struck a Syrian military command center and infrastructure sites. Additionally, terror targets used by the Syrian military's Aerial Defense Unit were struck," it added.

In April, an alleged Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus resulted in the death of Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a high-ranking Quds Force commander and several other IRGC officers. In retaliation, the Islamic Republic launched a barrage of missiles and drones toward Israel.

Israeli officials, despite their usual silence on such operations, have consistently declared their determination to prevent Iran from expanding its foothold in Syria. 

(Reporting by Reuters)